Spotting apparatus



May 2.7, 1952 J. E. MILLER SPOTTING APPARATUS 2 SHEETS-SHEET Filed Oct. 13, 1949 IN VEN TOR. (f. M v 2044a J. E. MILLER SPOTTING APPARATUS May 27, 1952 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed Oct. 15, 1949 q 6 gll L46 INVENTOR.

Patented May 27, 1952 "Ja'mes EJMiHe SyratCiISe, N. Y., assigno to Dryco "Corporation; Syracuse, N. Y., a: corporation of New .-York -s claims. (Cl. 299 -33) J- TKiS- invmio relates to welcoming-apparatus 'Vaiiofis oppaidtfis of this type' 'hive hi'etofore been-pioposed'which are o-f-"s'iih' consti'viictidzirfis to requi're theoperator to manipulate the Various valves incorporated therein by either foot or fiend-operated levers. The-apparent disdvantake of thiscohstruetion is'that the area-bfy'ope itidn of the spottihgtool bythe oper atoi is re-- strictedtothe' reach of the operator'with respect totheva lv eievers. In instances where-a la 'ge p'iee' of cloth isbeing cleaned, this disadvantage pifes'ents 1a. somewhat awkward situation, To ovreoifie this disadvantage, "someja iparatus hove B'niprofio'sed "wherein the control vaive itself is iricoipo'r'etedin the spotting tool 'however this iiii'eri'ge'niefitis verymnsatisfactory' beoau'se the toor'bcomes "unduly heavy" and is thiis fatiguing tothe operator 'aiid it also is ha'zardo'iisto the ofiei'atorbeeafi'sea full hea'dof steamfisf iequired atoll times at the tool and, thus," a, break in' the hose"(3611'nect'ing the tool'to the stetinseparator wofild fesu'lt in" se'veie injury to thejofieiator.

Thus, it is one of the Objects ofthis invention tofiarovide a spo'ttiiig appaiat is whose area of efieetii'e' op'ei'at ionis greatly increased.

It isa. further object of this 'ihventioii to provide fin a paratus wherein the controls for 'the ofiei'ation of the various Valves of the 'aip'baiatiis i e ohi leniently "mouhtd on the 's'pot'tin'g' tool itself Without; g ieatl'y increasing the Weight of the toolofendangeringthedbera'toi. v I

it is a. 'fu'r'ther'obj'eet of this'ir'1ventionf to provide an apparatus whereby the valves for the steam, "water, iid d'iiy "eLir are rerxio't'e'ly' eontiofld by the operator from" the 'spottihgtbol,

It isIs till a further object of this invention to pi oiiide an "apparatus which is simple in 'const'flietion irid efiective inoperation. v

Further and additional objects will appeg from the".description; iediripafiying drawings, and appended claims.

"In "'a',ceordahce with one 'emb'odiinent'offthis iiivehtion; a; spottin'g' apparatus is provided oomprisin'g a; steam separator un'it having outlet ports for steam, water,. a 'nd dry air, and a chamber'asseemed with said? 'seporatorj "unit and ido'mmo'n to said'outlet" ports. opersitive ly 'connected to the chamber i a spotting tooi. Associated with each? f 'the outlet ports is a, 'val've'whiclyis rerx'iotely *oo'ntroll ed by means "mounted on the sbottingtool. V I v r v "For a 'moi'e' completeimdersthding"of this/in:- venom i'e fererice shouldn'ow'b'ehd'tothe drdwizjgs 'W hi'e'i-n mg; iris affront devotionaliritvdfthkpdttifig t r: PM

I appatmfushowmg atop plan viw'--oi.=the-spotting "Fig. 2' i'sWside 'eIevatimiaL'view ofthe spotting appdrat'us -showingT a, top plin viw oi the *spotting $661.-

3 is a fragmentary "sectional -'view? of Fthe sepzator' unit-5 associated "valves, and chamber to en along: line/ 3 3 ofiFig. 1

Fig. '4 is a fra'mefitary" sectional" fronteleva- Cavityl8 is bidifiiie d at its oppw'endw'imounet be ei'i euia'tech-thiiei n. The l'ivestedm is" fed into the eavity "finiougn the ripper o'pnirig 23 and,

' ting thioughthe cavity is removed mag 'Ths'talr'n,whiie-oiicuiat- I g n the cavity-' eius'es com ieris'ztfie '25 th heoolleetedi neiowe' 'orti'on-oi'the cavity aoshown Theopez i ing-i acts iis -2m oufilet for anyfoie'rfiow cofidehsatein th vi-ty'. Smired dt ione end "to Witter outlet port 22 is: a;- bipe or mnemezs: havin the other endtheredfltefininatizi-g f in the rower portions of "the" cavity and submerged" inthe condensate -25; "Considerable d i, proiided with 'a 's'team separated from the steam cavity l8 by a wall or partition 36 which has a high heat transfer coeflicient. Thus, the heat of the steam within cavity l8 causes the air chamber to be likewise heated. A coil spring 3| or other similar type element is placed within the cavity 20, as shown in Fig. 4, and serves as a baflle whereby turbulent flow is created in the cavity and eifects greater heat absorption by the air. The spring 3| is held in position within the cavity by means of a bushing 32 which is threaded into the outlet port 28.

The valves l2, and I3 are connected by suitable fittings 33 to outlets ports 28, 2|, and

22, respectively. All valves are of a conventional type having a valve stem 34 mounted within the valve housing 39 and adapted to normally remain closed. The upper end 35 of the stem is exposed and is actuated by a lever 36 which is pivotally mounted at point 31 to a bracket 38 which, in turn, is mounted on the valve housing 39, as shown in Fig. 3'. The lever 36 for valve l3, as shown in Fig. 2, is actuated by a conventional type alternating current solenoid 46, disposed above valve I3 and mounted on a suitable support 49. A similar support 49 is mounted on the valve housings for valves 1 and I2. The solenoid, 40 is actuated by a relay, not shown, which is disposed within a box 4| which is mounted by suitable connections-42 on the steam separator unit I0, as seen in Fig. 2. Relay leads 43, 44, and 45 extend from box 4| to solenoids 46, 46, and 41, respectively. The solenoids 46 and 41 perform the same function for valves II and l2, respectively, as solenoid 40 for valve |3 as hereinbefore described and are actuated by individual relays enclosed within box 4|. A fourth lead 46 from box 4| extends to the spotting tool or gun l1 and is connected to switches 50 and 5| mounted on said tool. A low voltage transformer T, not shown, is enclosed within box 4| and is connected with the relays as shown in the circuit diagram Fig. 6.

Control switches 56 and 5| mounted on the spotting tool are of the conventional button type. As shown in Fig. 5, the switch 56 comprises a button 52 which is slidably mounted in a suitable opening formed in the handle 53 and is normally held in its up position by leaf contact 54. A shoulder 55 formed in the lower portion of button 52 prevents the button from becoming disengaged from the opening provided in handle 53. Theoperator upon depressing button 52 causes leaf 54 to come in contact with leaf 56 positioned therebeneath. Upon contact being made, the circuit is closed to the relay designated R1 enclosed within box 4| which, in turn, causes solenoid 46 to be actuated whereby valve I2 is opened and steam is caused to flow through outlet port 2|, into chamber I4, through flexible tube l6, and out through nozzle 59 of tool ll. Upon further depressing of ,button 52 by the operator, leaf 56 is caused to make contact with leaf 51 formed'therebeneath, and a second relay, designated R2 in Fig. 6, is caused to be actuated and solenoid 46 energized. Valve I3 is then opened and water or condensate 25 is caused to be emitted from separator ID. The steam valves l2 and [3, when button 52 is fullydepressed, are

both open and steam and water are caused to mix together in chamber 4 and a wet steam pass through tube l6 and out through nozzle 59. The switch 50 is fastened by means of screws 58 to the handle 53, which is constructed of a heat insulating material and surrounds the nozzle 59 of spotting tool Switch 5| which is adjacent switch 56 is of like construction. Upon depressing of the button 66 of switch 5|, a contact is made closing the circuit for relay R3 which is enclosed within box 4|, thereby causing solenoid 4'! to be energized and valve made to open; thus allowing hot dry air to flow from separator unit I6 and to be emitted from the spotting tool H.

The procedure followed by the operator in manipulating the apparatus is as follows: (a) The end 6| of the nozzle 59 of tool I1 is positioned above the soiled portion of the garment and the switch 56 partially depressed by the operator, causing steam to be emitted from the end 6| of nozzle 59; (b) if greater moisture is required to remove the spot, the operator fully depresses the button 52 of switch 56, thereby causing a wet steam to be emitted from the end 6|; and (c) after the spot has been successfully removed the operator releases button 52 and then the steamed portion of the garment is dried by the operator depressing button 66 of switch 5|, causing hot dry air to be directed onto the garment.

A simplified circuitdiagram of the electrical system for the apparatus is shown in Fig. 6. The low voltage transformer T is connected to a suitable power supply. When the circuit to relay R1 is closed'by partial depressing of button 52, the contact 62 in the circuit for solenoid 46 is closed, thereby causing the solenoid 46 to be energized. Upon further depressing button, 52, the relays R1 and R2 are placed in parallel combination with one another, and both solenoids 46 and 40 are energized. Upon release of button 52, the circuits to relays R1 and R2 are broken; the contacts 62 and 63 for solenoids 46 and.46, respectively, are opened; and valves I2 and I3 resume their normal closed position. Upon depressing button 66 of switch 5|, the circuit to relay R3 is closed whereupon the relay is actuated causing contact 64 to close the circuit to solenoid 41. Upon release of the button 60, the circuit for solenoid 41. is broken and the valve once again is closed.

It will be obvious that certain modifications of the specific embodiment shown may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. For example, an individual switch for each relay R1, R2, and R3 may be mounted on the spotting tool I! so that each of the valves l2, and I3 may be operated independently of the other. In certain other instances where it is believed that the drying of the garment is not a necessary operation the switch 5| mounted on the tool I! may be omitted and the valve ll manually actuated if required by a hand or foot pedal.

It will thus be seen that a spotting apparatus has been provided which enables the area of operation with a spotting tool to be greatly increased. Also, the operation of the valves for the separator unit may be remotely controlled by the operator at the spotting tool without the tool becoming unduly heavy or the operator being exposed to the danger of a full head of steam at the spotting tool.

While a particular embodiment of this invention is shown above, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is not to be limited thereto since many modifications may be made and it is contemplated, therefore, by the appended claims, to cover any such modifications as fall withinthe true spirit and scope of this invention. I

I claim:

1. An apparatus of the class described comprising a steam separator unit provided with outlet ports, a chamber associated with said unit and common to said outlet ports, a spotting tool operatively connected to said chamber, and a control member mounted on said tool and operatively connected to said unit for regulating the output of said unit through said ports.

2. An apparatus of the class described comprising a stationary steam separator unit provided with valved outlet ports, a chamber associated with said unit and common to said outlet ports, a movable spotting tool operatively connected to said chamber, and a control member mounted on said tool and operatively connected to said valved ports for regulating the output of said unit through said ports.

3. An apparatus of the class described comprising a stationary steam separator unit having a steam outlet port, a water outlet port, and a dry air outlet port, a control valve for each of said ports, a chamber associated with said unit and common to said ports, a movable spotting tool operatively connected to said chamber, and a control member mounted on said tool for actuating said valves.

4. An apparatus of the class described comprising a steam separator unit provided with outlet ports, a chamber associated with said unit and connected to said chamber, an outlet port for said condensate formed in said cavity and operatively connected to said chamber, a dry air cavity adjacent said steam cavity, air intake and outlet ports formed in said air cavity, said air outlet port being operatively connected to said chamber, and means for increasing the heating action of said air while circulating through said air cavity.

5. An apparatus of the class described comprising a steam separator unit having outlet ports for steam, water, and dry air, a chamber associated with said unit and common to said outlet ports, a control valve for each of said ports, a solenoid for actuating each of said valves, a relay for actuating each of said solenoids, a spotting tool operatively connected to the outlet side of said chamber, and means mounted on said tool for controlling the operation of said relays.

6. An apparatus of the class described comprising a steam separator unit having outlet ports for steam, water, and dry air, a chamber associated with said unit and common to said outlet ports, a control valve for each of said ports, solenoids mounted on said unit for actuating the control valves for said water and steam outlet ports, relays mounted on said unit for actuating said solenoids, a spotting tool operatively connected to the outlet side of said chamber, and a finger switch mounted on said tool; said steam valve relay adapted to be energized upon partial closing of said finger switch whereupon only steam is emitted from said tool, and both said steam and Water relays adapted to be energized upon said switch being fully closed whereupon a mixture of steam and water is emitted from said tool.

7. An apparatus of the class described comprising a relatively stationary steam separator unit provided with outlet ports, a chamber associated with said unit and common to said outlet ports, a spotting tool operatively connected to the outlet side of said chamber and movable relative to said chamber and unit, and a control member mounted on said tool and operatively connected to said unit for regulating the output of said unit through one outlet port or through more than one of said outlet ports simultaneously.

8. An apparatus of the class described comprising a steam separator unit having outlet ports for steam, water, and dry air, a chamberassociated with said unit and common to said outlet ports, a control valve for each of said outlet ports, a spotting tool operatively connected to the out: let side of said chamber, and controls mounted on said tool and operatively connected to said valves for remotely operating said valves independently or in combination with one another.

JAMES E. MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,923,422 Conley Aug. 22, 1933 1,934,826 Shepherd Nov. 14, 1933 2,279,984 Goodwin Apr. 14, 1942 2,340,832 Damme et al. Feb. 1, 1944 2,363,956 Glover Nov. 28, 1944 2,444,728 Castoe July 6, 1948 2,445,592 Yanchenko July 20, 1948 

